Gao Shun

Gao Shun (pronunciationⓘ) (died 7 February 199)[a] was a military officer serving the warlord Lü Bu during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

Although he only had 700 men under his command, his unit was nicknamed as the "camp crusher (or formation breaker)" (陷陣營) for its destructive charges.

His noted accomplishments included conquest of Peicheng (沛城) and the subsequent victory over a combined force led by Xiahou Dun and Liu Bei.

According to Pei Songzhi's annotation in Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, Gao Shun, from Shangdang Commandery, was a stern and incorrupt man, with an air of authority and few words.

Zang Ba, the head of the bandit leaders around Mount Tai, attacked and defeated the Chancellor of Langye, Xiao Jian, at Ju County.

Hao ordered his troops to surround the government office of Xiapi, where Lü Bu resided.

Gao Shun, Lü Bu, Chen Gong and others were executed, and their heads were sent to Xuchang.

In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Gao Shun was said to have duelled Xiahou Dun during an encounter outside Xiaopei in Chapter 18.

Xiahou Dun urged his mount forward and chased Gao Shun deep into the enemy ranks.

Then Cao Xing, a subject of Gao, secretly took aim and fired an arrow at Xiahou Dun.

With a cry, Xiahou Dun pulled out the arrow along with his eyeball, which he swallowed, filling soldiers on both sides with fear.

With no time to react, Cao Xing was impaled through the face and died beneath his nemesis' horse.